Forged in Battle 15mm French Mortar Team

I was recommended these Forged in Battle miniatures at a gaming shop in Birmingham. They look well casted and a similar size to Flames of War infantry.

I mounted the mortar teams onto wooden sticks ready for undercoating and painting.

There are four teams altogether.

The next stage was a white undercoat.

See the workbench feature on the Forged in Battle 15mm French Mortar Team.

Making the Flames of War Dingo

The Daimler Scout Car, known in service as the “Dingo” (after the Australian wild dog), was a British light fast 4WD reconnaissance vehicle also used in the liaison role during the Second World War. The vehicle was officially designated Daimler Scout Car, but became widely known as Dingo, which was the name of the competing Alvis prototype.

The Flames of War blister comes with three of them. These are resin models with metal wheels and crew.

The models go together quite easily, but it can be challenging to get the wheels to fit flat.

Flames of War Dingo

Flames of War Dingo

The three completed Dingos.

Flames of War Dingo

The crew I decided to paint separately. I glued the crew to a wooden stick.

Flames of War Dingo Crew

See the full workbench feature on the British Daimler Dingo.

Basecoating the Flames of War German Panther A Platoon

Panther is the common name of a medium tank fielded by Nazi Germany in World War II that served from mid-1943 to the end of the European war in 1945. It was intended as a counter to the T-34, and to replace the Panzer III and Panzer IV; while never replacing the latter, it served alongside it as well as the heavier Tiger tanks until the end of the war. The Panther’s excellent combination of firepower, mobility, and protection served as a benchmark for other nations’ late war and immediate post-war tank designs, and it is frequently regarded as one of the best tank designs of World War II.

Having given the underneath of the models a dark brown undercoat to add shadow I then applied the final basecoat of Flames of War Warpaint Late War German Armour.

This is the command tank.

See the full workbench feature on the Flames of War German Panther A Platoon.

Shadowing the Flames of War German Panther A Platoon

Panther is the common name of a medium tank fielded by Nazi Germany in World War II that served from mid-1943 to the end of the European war in 1945. It was intended as a counter to the T-34, and to replace the Panzer III and Panzer IV; while never replacing the latter, it served alongside it as well as the heavier Tiger tanks until the end of the war. The Panther’s excellent combination of firepower, mobility, and protection served as a benchmark for other nations’ late war and immediate post-war tank designs, and it is frequently regarded as one of the best tank designs of World War II.

Having given the models a white undercoat, I then sprayed the underneath of the models with a Humbrol Dark Brown spray to add shadow when I apply the final basecoat of Flames of War Warpaint Late War German Armour.

See the full workbench feature on the Flames of War German Panther A Platoon.

French 47mm SA-37 Gun

The 47 mm APX anti-tank gun was a French anti-tank gun that saw service in the first years of the Second World War.

French 47mm SA-37 Gun

In the 1930s the French artillery sought a replacement for the derivatives of the 75 mm mle 1897 field gun it used in the anti-tank role. Despite having a decent anti-armour capability, the venerable soixante-quinze was heavy and was much harder to conceal than the smaller high-velocity, small calibre anti-tank weapons of modern design. The chosen weapon was a design of the state-owned arsenal Atelier de Puteaux (“Puteaux workshop”, abbreviated to APX), and was designated as canon de 47 mm semi-automatique mle 1937. It was a very efficient weapon, especially given the (then) thin armour of German tanks of the time, unfortunately the 47 SA 37 still was relatively rare at the time of the Battle of France.

Within the Flames of War blister you get two guns and one command team.

French 47mm SA-37 Gun

They may eventually end up like this!

French 47mm SA-37 Gun

Dystopian Wars – Prussian Empire Blucher Class Dreadnought

The Dystopian Wars is a miniatures games from Spartan Games.

The Prussian Empire Blucher Class Dreadnought is a powerful vessel in the Prussian Empire navy. This is how it looks from the marketing material.

This is a very clean casting and the computer aided design certainly shows in the detail of the model.

I gave the model a wash in soapy water in order to remove any release agent remaining on the model.

I then glued the metal turrets to the model.

Flames of War French Hotchkiss H-39

The Hotchkiss H35 or Char léger modèle 1935 H was a French light tank developed prior to World War II.

Despite having been designed from 1933 as a rather slow but well-armoured light infantry support tank, the type was initially rejected by the French Infantry because it proved difficult to steer while driving cross-country, instead being adopted in 1936 by the French Cavalry. From 1938 an improved version was produced with a stronger engine, the Char léger modèle 1935 H modifié 39, that from 1940 was also fitted with a longer, more powerful 37 mm gun. It was intended to make this improved variant the standard light tank, to be produced in a number of at least four thousand to equip new armoured divisions of both the Cavalry and the Infantry, but due to the defeat of France in June 1940 total production of both subtypes remained limited to about 1200 vehicles

So far I have two of these blisters and each contains three tanks.

You can make them up either as the H-35 or the H-39. As well as the resin hulls and turrets you get metal tracks and rear engine covers.

Flames of War French Somua S-35

Somua S-35

The Somua S35 was a French cavalry tank of the Second World War. Built from 1936 until 1940 to equip the armoured divisions of the Cavalry, it was for its time a relatively agile medium-weight tank, superior in armour and armament to both its French and foreign competitors, such as the contemporary versions of the German Panzerkampfwagen III. It was constructed from well-sloped, mainly cast, armour sections, that however made it expensive to produce and time-consuming to maintain. During the German invasion of May 1940, the Somua S35 proved itself to be a tactically effective type, but this was negated by strategic mistakes in deploying its units.

So far I have one of these blisters.

Flames of War French Somua S-35

I really need three for a Medium Combat Platoon and a fourth as a command vehicle… well this one may be the command vehicle and I’ll get the other three at a later date.

Undercoating the Flames of War German Panther A Platoon

I bought this box set as it was available at Hobbycraft for a much cheaper price than the list price last year.

Panther is the common name of a medium tank fielded by Nazi Germany in World War II that served from mid-1943 to the end of the European war in 1945. It was intended as a counter to the T-34, and to replace the Panzer III and Panzer IV; while never replacing the latter, it served alongside it as well as the heavier Tiger tanks until the end of the war. The Panther’s excellent combination of firepower, mobility, and protection served as a benchmark for other nations’ late war and immediate post-war tank designs, and it is frequently regarded as one of the best tank designs of World War II.

Having made up the Panthers, the next stage was a white undercoat, making the models ready for the basecoat.

This is the command vehicle.

See the full workbench feature on the Flames of War German Panther A Platoon.

Constructing the Flames of War German Panther A Platoon

I bought this box set as it was available at Hobbycraft for a much cheaper price than the list price last year.

Panther is the common name of a medium tank fielded by Nazi Germany in World War II that served from mid-1943 to the end of the European war in 1945. It was intended as a counter to the T-34, and to replace the Panzer III and Panzer IV; while never replacing the latter, it served alongside it as well as the heavier Tiger tanks until the end of the war. The Panther’s excellent combination of firepower, mobility, and protection served as a benchmark for other nations’ late war and immediate post-war tank designs, and it is frequently regarded as one of the best tank designs of World War II.

Having cleaned the castings, I then started the construction process, first by gluing the tracks onto the hull. Then adding the extra components of which there is a fair few.

I found fitting the front mudguards the most challenging part of the model, it wasn’t easy to fit them flush and in the right position. I decided not to model any of the Panthers without them, as was shown on the box.
For the command vehicle I added some extra stowage from the Panzergrenadiers Headquarters pack. For this vehicle I also kept the armoured skirts off. For the others I either used the full armoured skirt or cut them down to represent battle damage.

Some of the models come with “extra armour” in terms of road wheels and spare tracks. Sometimes this is sculptured on to the turret or hull. I added additional “extra armour” to some of the models.

The following pictures show the finished Panthers before they are undercoated.

I found fitting the front mudguards the most challenging part of the model, it wasn’t easy to fit them flush and in the right position. I decided not to model any of the Panthers without them, as was shown on the box.

For the command vehicle I added some extra stowage from the Panzergrenadiers Headquarters pack.

For this vehicle I also kept the armoured skirts off.

For the others I either used the full armoured skirt or cut them down to represent battle damage.

Some of the models come with “extra armour” in terms of road wheels and spare tracks. Sometimes this is sculptured on to the turret or hull. I added additional “extra armour” to some of the models.

I added some extra stowage from the Panzergrenadiers Headquarters pack.

The next stage will be an undercoat.